The craft beer segment is booming — shipping 13.7 million barrels in 2012.
Craft beer steps into the media spotlight again. This time, the Los Angeles Times’ Money & Co. took a look at the growing craft industry segment, touting Sam Adams’ Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada as the industry sales leaders.
The Times reported that Boston Beer led the craft beer segment last year despite the Samuel Adams brewer losing some market share, dropping to 15.7 percent (compared to 21 percent in 2008). Boston Beer reportedly shipped 2.2 million barrels (bbls) last year. Sierra Nevada ranked second, shipping 966,000 bbls.
Other honorable mentions go to Lagunitas Brewing, which crafted a huge year of 46 percent growth, shipping 235,000 bbls. All in all, the Times reported that the industry grew by 1.5 million bbls last year — topping out around 13.7 million bbls industry wide. For the full story, check out the L.A. Times article.
